The woods were thick and teeming with life, unlike the forest that Link had always walked through, back when he lived in Ordon. This had the calls of many birds, and dozens of deer walked alongside the path, even walking right next to his horse, every now and then. They weren't afraid of him, so he had no reason to shoot them. He enjoyed the company that they and Epona gave him.

Why did he have to do this again? Considering he was the most trusted man Zelda and the King looked upon, he was stuck with the job of meeting with the prince and king of Hereku. It was an unknown land which none of the Hylians have ever heard of, not even the wise Zelda. The Light Spirits did know about the land, but refused to tell him, saying it was a secret.

Soon, after a few more hours of trekking the strange forest (that had not monsters, thank Din), he noticed the wildlife had left him, and he was no longer in the woods, but in a grassy plain. It was ringed with mountains, each one either capped with snow or emitting smoke. He spied a river snaking along the middle, where a large town was seen. The other end of the river had a very large lake, making Lake Hylia seem like a puddle. He couldn't even see the land on the other side.

"Are you de ambassador of Herule?"

Link turned, startled, to see an old man with a large cane, with the head of an eagle carved at the tip of it. He seemed like a wise old man, with the bent back, wrinkled skin, and white hair. But the strangest thing of this man (other than the strange accent) was the war paint on his face. The eyes of an owl were painted on his cheeks in green, and a couple of brown feathers were painted on his forehead.

"Vell?" he asked again, limping over. "Are you de ambassador of Herule or not? Answer me, buay!"

Of course, Link was startled when the man raised his staff and began whacking him with it, so it was natural that he fell off. The old man laughed loudly, amused at the situation. "For an ambassador, you don'd have mutch balanse, do you? But of course, I know you ain't from around her, buay, since you have no paint on yer face."

Link glared at the old man, who cackled and heaved, enjoying his private joke. "Why did you attack me, then?"

"I wanted to test your reacteons. You failed. Congrads." The man limped over and helped Link up,surprisingly stronger than he looked. "My name is Kaepora Gaebora. I am a servant to de prince and his fader." Kaepora grinned. "How about a brief summary of de land, Link?"

"But I never told you my..." Link was shocked, having heard his name uttered without a proper introduction. "How do you know my name?"

"I flew by Herule every now and den, and your name kept popping out of puaples moudes, so I only assume dat you be Link, since you are quite popular." Kaepora turned to the mountains and pointed with his cane. Link noticed as he spoke, his accent kept constantly changing, as if it were always alternating. "Dose be de Molten Ice Mountains. De Gorons and Yetis live dere, but don't be frightened. Dey're harmless little buggers." He pointed to the river. "Dat be Glacier River, seeing as it's always cool and refreshing to drink. Dat be vere de gang Fishy Buays are, steer clear of dem. It connects to Hot Spring. Sea", he continued, pointing to the large body of water. "Dat be vere everybody goes to relax after a long amount of vork. Very popular wid de ladies. He he he!" Kaepora grinned, a bit of blood dripping down his nose, Link stepping back in disgust. "And last but not least... Village of Beasts." Kaepora was pointing at the town by the river. "Dat be vere most people live, unless dey are out hunting and don't make it back on time. Shall we go see it?"

"Sure", Link agreed, getting on Epona. Kaepora grinned. "You'd best ride fast if you wanna keep up."

"I'm sure I can follow you easily, old man," Link shot back. Kaepora Gaebora merely smirked, and an instant later, feathers grew on his body. His hazel eyes turned green, and the eyes on his cheeks turned black, the feathers on his head also turning green. His arms turned to wings, and his staff was grabbed by the talon his foot had become. Finally, tale feathers sprouted from his rear, and his mouth and nose turned into a beak.

"Still think you can keep up with me now?" laughed the airborne owl, leaving the Hero of Twilight in the dust.